Alicante railway station

Alicante
Two AVE Class 100 trains at the Alicante terminal.
Location	Avenida de Salamanca, Alicante Spain
Coordinates	38°20′40″N 0°29′41.9″W / 38.34444°N 0.494972°WCoordinates: 38°20′40″N 0°29′41.9″W / 38.34444°N 0.494972°W
Owned by	adif
Line(s)	Alaris, Altaria, Alvia, Euromed, Talgo L-1, L-2 (Valencia, Cartagena, Ciudad Real) , (Murcia, San Vicente del Raspeig)
History
Opened	1858
Electrified	Yes

Alicante terminal (Valencian: Alacant terminal) is the central railway station of Alicante, Spain. Commonly referred locally as the RENFE station, the station is part of Adif system, and is a terminal station.

The station accommodates RENFE long-distance and medium-distance trains, and it is the origin of lines C-1 and C-3 of Cercanías Murcia/Alicante (suburban trains). The station is not related to the narrow gauge railway Alicante-Dénia managed by FGV and part of the city's tram network.

By the end of 2013, AVE (high-speed) railway is expected to reach Alicante. While a new intermodal station is to be constructed in place of the current terminal, a temporal terminal is to be utilized by the high speed trains.^[1][2]

History

Alicante Terminal in 2005

The first train to Alicante arrived from Madrid on 4 January 1858. It took almost 10 years to construct a railway from Madrid to Alicante, which was carried out by Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante, a predecessor of RENFE. Passenger services began on 1 March 1858, but the official opening awaited the arrival of Queen Isabella II on 25 May 1858.^[3]

The initial design of the stations along the Almansa-Alicante part of the railway was approved in 1853. Additional extensions to the projects were made in 1857. It was one of the largest terminals built in Spain in those years.^[3]

Between 1967 and 1968 the original facade of the Alicante station was completely rebuilt.^[3]

Railway service

Cercanías Murcia/Alicante

Map of Cercanías Murcia/Alicante with tariff zones.

The station services Alicante and Murcia suburban areas with a frequency of 1 or 2 trains per hour on line C-1 and with eight trains per day on line C-3. The station is the origin for both lines and is located in tariff area 6 of the Cercanías Murcia/Alicante netrwork.

Line	Route
	Alicante - San Gabriel - Murcia del Carmen
	Alicante - University of Alicante - San Vicente Center

Medium-distance trains

The station is used by medium-distance RENFE trains such as Regional Express or Regional with services to Valencia, Murcia, Cartagena, Albacete, Villarrobledo, and Ciudad Real as lines L-1 and L-2.

Line	Route	Stops
L1	Valencia - Alicante - Murcia - Cartagena	Valencia-Norte · Xàtiva · Villena · Sax · Elda-Petrer · Novelda · Alicante · San Gabriel · Torrellano · Elx Parc · Elx Carrús · Crevillent · Albatera-Catral · Callosa de Segura · Orihuela · Beniel · Los Ramos-Alquerías · Beniaján · Murcia-Estación del Carmen · Balsicas-Mar Menor · Torre-Pacheco · Cartagena
L2	Alicante - Albacete - Alcázar de San Juan - Ciudad Real	Alicante · Elda-Petrer · Villena · Almansa · Albacete · La Gineta · La Roda · Minaya · Villarrobledo · Socuéllamos · Campo de Criptana · Alcázar de San Juan · Cinco Casas · Manzanares · Daimiel · Almagro · Ciudad Real-Central

Long-distance trains

Barcelona and Madrid are the primary destinations of long-distance trains operated by Renfe. With the completion of high-speed railway (AVE), a trip from Madrid to Alicante now takes between 2h20 mins and 2h40 mins.

Train	Destination	Intermediate stops	Frequency
AVE	Madrid-Atocha	Villena AV · Albacete-Los Llanos · Cuenca–Fernando Zóbel · Madrid-Atocha	7 trains daily
Alvia	Gijón	Villena AV · Albacete-Los Llanos · Cuenca–Fernando Zóbel · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Valladolid-Campo Grande · Palencia · Sahagún · León · Pola de Lena · Mieres-Puente · Oviedo	1 train per day
	Santander	Villena AV · Albacete-Los Llanos · Cuenca–Fernando Zóbel · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Valladolid-Campo Grande · Palencia · Aguilar de Campóo · Reinosa · Torrelavega	1 train per day
	Ferrol	Villena AV · Albacete-Los Llanos · Cuenca–Fernando Zóbel · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Medina del Campo · Zamora · Puebla de Sanabria · A Gudiña · Ourense-Empalme · Santiago de Compostela · A Coruña · Elviña-Universidade · Betanzos-Infesta · Betanzos-Cidade · Pontedeume	1 train on Sunday
	Pontevedra	Villena AV · Albacete-Los Llanos · Cuenca–Fernando Zóbel · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Medina del Campo · Zamora · Puebla de Sanabria · A Gudiña · Ourense-Empalme · Guillarei · Redondela · Vigo Guixar	1 train on Sunday
Alaris	Barcelona-Sants	Valencia-Norte · Sagunt · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Oropesa del Mar · Benicarló-Peñíscola · Vinaròs · L'Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Salou · Tarragona	1 train per day except Sunday
Euromed	Barcelona-Sants	Valencia-Norte · Castellón de la Plana · Tarragona	3-4 trains daily
Talgo	Barcelona-Sants	Elda-Petrer · Villena · Xàtiva · Valencia-Norte · Sagunt · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Oropesa del Mar · Benicarlò-Peníscola · Vinaròs · L'Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Cambrils · Salou · Tarragona	2-3 trains daily
	Murcia del Carmen	Elx Parc · Orihuela	1-2 trains per day
	Cartagena	Elx Parc · Orihuela · Murcia del Carmen · Balsicas-Mar Menor · Torre-Pacheco	1 train per day
Talgo Mare Nostrum	Montpellier Saint-Roch	Elda-Petrer · Villena · Xàtiva · Valencia-Norte · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Benicarlò-Peníscola · Vinaròs · La Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Cambrils · Salou · Tarragona · Barcelona-Sants · Girona · Figueras · Portbou · Cervera de la Marenda · Perpiñán · Narbona · Béziers	1 train per day
	Lorca-Sutullena	Elx Parc · Orihuela · Murcia del Carmen · Alhama de Murcia · Totana	1 train per day

References

1. La estación provisional del AVE podría mantenerse diez años., laverdad.es, 04.05.2010 (Spanish)
2. El AVE a Alicante se retrasa hasta finales de 2013, elpais.es, 12.06.2012 (Spanish)
3. 150 Year Anniversary of Madrid-Alicante Railroad Generalitat Valenciana (Spanish)